I have been trying to build a VST-host Standalone app with Max 7. It turned out, however, that the outcome cannot match something like Vienna Ensemble pro. Firstly, playback stressed the computer resources way more than a dedicated VST-host, although I tried to play with the settings. Secondly, it was not as reliable and caused crashes from time to time. That is whyI abandoned the idea of hosting the VSTs inside a self built host and kept using VEpro. It would, however, still offer a lot of advantages to be able to do this.
Now, with the arrival of Max 8, I read there are a quite some enhancements regarding the efficiency of the code. Is it worth trying this once more? I am not talking about merely loading some synths or samplers. I am referring to load a huge bunch of Kontakt instruments and those samples will easily use up 80% of 128gb of Ram on that PC. I need the ability to activate and deactivate Kontakt instances remotely (via Midi or OSC). So, all of this has to be very stable and be as effective in voice streaming as VEpro. Is that a waste of time to even expect a self-built system to work as well as a dedicated host? Even, if it was possible to get it to work as well ... wouldn't updates of the VSTs force you to revisit the whole thing time and time again?
How about features like VEpros audio and midi over lan? For Midi, there are enough external solutions. But how about transferring real-time audio via network from Max to Cubase (both from the same PC, where Cubase is loaded, but also from an additional Sample PC with only Max?). This last paragraph is optional, as I could use Madi cards for that purpose. I am just trying to narrow down how to conceptualize my whole composing rig. With VEpro, I know it runs very reliably and I wouldn't want to try building a VST host based on Max once more only to find out it will never run as good as VEpro. :-) I am looking forwards to hearing what experiences you might be able to share, as well as